Microsoft System Would Monitor Workplace Employees For Bad Behavior, Assign Positivity Ratings
Microsoft System Would Monitor Workplace Employees For Bad Behavior, Assign Positivity Ratings
Posted 11/18/2011 at 11:20am
| by Brad Chacos
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“The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.” That kind of brutal honesty to higher-ups shocked our senses and made us laugh when Peter Gibbons uttered it in Office Space. But could forthcoming generations not get the gag? That bit’s future funniness lies in doubt now that Microsoft’s newest technology patent has broken cover. The patent describes a computer program that monitors employees’ behaviors in emails, texts, VOIP conversations and interactions caught on video conferences, then identifies behaviors as either “negative” or “positive” and assigns employees a positivity rating based on the findings. It's in your HEAD!
Geekwire pointed us towards the patent, which was filed in May 2010 and made public on November 10th of this year. One goal of the patent is “making trust-building behaviors more actionable” – as in, eliminating behaviors that aren’t deemed good for the “organizational trust” of a company. Some cited examples of negative behavior include “nodding one's head in agreement, shaking one's head indicating disagreement, hand gestures, wearing dark glasses in a video conference, wearing unacceptable clothing to a business meeting, cutting off others during conversation and prolonged monologues.” Patterns that occur in specific situations and particular times can also be tracked, the patent claims.
No word on whether or not Microsoft continued working on the project after the filing, so your secret feelings may stay secret after all.
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firefox91
November 21, 2011 at 10:39am
I do a good job at my job. Quite consistantly at that. But I am no means a "model employee" by the handbook terms. The reason why I do a good job is because I can tell or e-mail someone I trust to let them know what an asshole someone else is. It is called venting and it works. If my e-mails are monitored by a computer to look for the words "fuck tard" all the time, then my productivity will go down. I will have no way to vent and therefore have to bottle up my frustrations until it all comes out with application to the postal service. So, maybe letting me call someone a "fuck tard" behind their back is a better idea. Just because you make some act the way you want, doesn't mean the end result will be better. We are people and not machines.
warptek2010
November 18, 2011 at 11:51pm
The Federation president in ST:VI said it best. "Just because we can do something does not mean we should do that something". Or something like that.
Or Rush in the song Natural Science: "Science like nature must also be tamed. With a view towards it's preservation".
I wil get off the soap box now.
hal1000
November 18, 2011 at 5:08pm
heaven or hell it's your choice - google it - it say's how it is - how it was and most importantly - where we will all end up if we are not careful - no it has nothing to do with religion. It is about the future of tech and the human race etc, endorsed by the top hacker and A.I. scientist in the world and others, plus it is totally free.
poee
November 19, 2011 at 10:34pm
Yes. George Orwell imagined many nightmare scenarios, but did not imagine the one where government and private corporations essentially merged their operations. It wouldn't have changed the outcome of 1984 too much, other than to inject some of that private-sector efficiency into the Big Brother system. Perhaps they would have had slightly more polished propaganda. And instead of the "Ministry of Love" it would be "Disney Presents: the Ministry of Love" and "Two Minutes of Hate, brought to you by Sprint LTE."
EclecticFortune
November 18, 2011 at 3:53pm
The 80's Group, Devo should make a comeback in 25 years. Their song, "Smart Patrol / Mr. DNA" would make an appropriate New National Anthem for America in light of the direction our country is headed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQvEu6G-i_0
Phantom-e
November 18, 2011 at 5:29pm
You do realize they just released a new album don't you? So they might!
Bad Kharma
November 18, 2011 at 11:48am
People should check into the history of the French Revolution. The top 1%, lets call them the nobility, had everything and the people, lets call them the peasants, had nothing, no rights, no money, nothing. Eventually the peasants got fed up and since they outnumbered the nobility and had nothing to lose, they decided to take action. when everything was said and done, all the nobility were dead or had fled.
The first part sounds a lot like what is going on today. The second part could be inevitable unless the nobility stop screwing over the peasants and bring the overseas jobs back home and stops screwing the peasants over.
RavenMkII
November 18, 2011 at 11:32am
I think this is BS. This country is so divers, what one thing is acceptable to some its considered negative to others, so if you have a company with a diverse workforce, how could you determine whos really negative or not. Are you going to make everyone conform to what YOU think is acceptable? might as well make them convert to your religion too.
blkpanthr
November 18, 2011 at 2:26pm
You are correct.
When you go to work for an organization, you conform to their rules, or you find another job.
Its called an empoyee manual.
Biceps
November 18, 2011 at 3:44pm
And it is also why you'd better make sure you fit with the corporate culture of the employer you choose to work for. If you don't like it, you can (a) leave, (b) deal or (c) go postal (not recommended). If I found out my employer was using software like the above, I would first think about leaving, then I would simply find a way to game the software and land myself a few 'positive moment' promotions.
Don't get mad, get bitter and then get even.
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